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News Briefs for November 10, 2017

•New Jersey-based Royal Wine Corp. is launching a new limited edition under its Bartenura wine brand from Italy. Bartenura Limited Edition Demi-Sec is a medium-dry sparkling wine that is rolling out nationally, retailing at $20. Aimed at holiday sales, the newcomer is presented in a couture-style gift bag. Bartenura, which is best known for its Moscato offerings, grew 9% to just under a half-million cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank. Royal Wine’s range also includes offerings from California, France, Spain, New Zealand and Argentina.

•Bacardi is rolling out a new multimillion-dollar campaign behind its Havana Club rum brand in the U.S. market. The campaign, which has launched on YouTube and social media channels, includes a 60-second spot with Cuban-American actor Raul Esparza reciting “Island Body,” a poem written exclusively for the campaign by world-renowned poet Richard Blanco. Written, produced and directed entirely by Cuban exiles in Miami, and available in both English and Spanish, the film culminates with the tagline “Forced from home. Aged in Exile. Forever Cuban.” The push will extend to out-of-home and radio formats in key New York and Florida markets over the next two months. In the year-to-date, Bacardi’s Havana Club label is at 10,000 cases in Nielsen channels and at 5,000 cases in control states. The company tells SND that “sales of Havana Club rums have exceeded our expectations over the past year and a half since our nationwide expansion.”